These are common phrases found in fake job ads that will waste your time and possibly, if you're not careful, even suck you into a pointless and frustrating work situation.

It doesn't take much to post a job ad. Anybody can do it. That's why you have to read job ads carefully, and check out every prospective employer before you go on a job interview.

You don't have time and energy to waste interviewing for fake jobs!

A fake job is a job that doesn't guarantee you any particular wage or salary. You might have to go door-to-door selling something to make a dime, or sell a product or service over the phone with little to no training and little to no compensation until by some miracle you make a sale.

They might even put you behind a desk and tell you to build your own business, sitting at their desk and calling random companies out of the telephone directory.

"Energetic and motivated go-getter" is a common phrase found in scam job ads. If you go to a job interview after having responded to a job ad that used this term, your interviewer may respond to your concerns about the iffy compensation structure by saying "In your response to our job ad, you said you were a motivated, energetic go-getter! You shouldn't be afraid of the fact that you could work here for months and never get paid a dime -- a person like you will probably make a fortune!"

If you are considering a purely speculative or commission-only job, ask for historical data that shows you what other people hired into the same role earned in their first 30, 90 and 180 days on the job.

If the company won't cough up that information, run away!

"Potential earnings" in a job ad (almost always accompanied by a big number) means that potentially, you could earn a bundle but as a practical matter, you probably won't.

At least if you start your own company, you'll be in charge. You'll know exactly what you're selling, and you'll keep the profits.

Way too many sketchy employers fund their marketing research on the backs of commission-only salespeople whose feedback from prospective customers ends up being incorporated into product and pricing decisions.

That's great in the long run, but how do you pay your rent on no commissions in the short term -- and why should your brains and experience go to waste generating free market research for a company that couldn't care less about you?

"Make your own hours" is shorthand for "We're not investing any money in you anyway, so work whenever you want."

"Business opportunity" and "Get in on the ground floor" are famous phrases founds in countless job ads that lead to opportunities which are not actually jobs.

You might be asked or required to invest money even to step in to the promised "business opportunity."

"Get in on the ground floor" means that the company isn't real yet but they want you to provide the labor and brain power to make the company real without paying you market wages.

Of course, some job ads are pure scams that are not associated with any kind of job, business opportunity or revenue-generating process - at least, for you!

They are scams that snare job-seekers in hopes of getting them to pay for a credit check, some kind of certification, or the chance to be represented to employers by the company that placed the ad.

Get away from grifters who post fake jobs to confuse job-seekers, as fast as you can!

Not every job is worth your time or energy. Not every employer deserves you -- hold out for the ones that do!